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Who mourns for Adonis?
Nov. 11th, 2005 10:21 pmWe saw a lot of mosaics in Jordan. A lot. But this one was my favorite:
This mosaic (called the Hippolytus Mosaic since the next row down depicts that Euripides play) was in a sixth century Byzantine villa. Apparently the Byzantines in Madaba, though Christian, frequently depicted Greek gods in their art. As far as I can tell, this mosaic shows Charis (in some sources one of Aphrodite's attendants) chasing Eros and finally delivering him to Aphrodite, who spanks him with her sandal. (Hitting people with her sandal seems to have been a hobby of Aphrodite's.) I'm not sure of the role of the peasant looking on from the left.
It's the character on the right that makes this my favorite mosaic, though: Aphrodite's young lover, Adonis. In Greek mythology, he was a beautiful young man with whom both Aphrodite and Persephone fell in love, so they timeshared him until his tragic death in a hunting accident. The mystery religion surrounding his story involved women annually mourning his death. ("Gentle Adonis is dying, O Cythera, what shall we do? / Beat your breasts, O maidens, and rend your garments" said Sappho.)
The interesting part is that Adonis is linked with the Sumerian god Tammuz, consort of Inana. Adonis is obviously from the Semitic adonai, "Lord"; the Greek myths describe him as coming from Asia Minor; and Ezekiel 8 describes women mourning Tammuz just as they mourned Adonis.
So Adonis began life as a Sumerian fertility god, was absorbed into the Greek pantheon, and then was reexported to Jordan where he adorned the floor of a Byzantine Christian.
And that's why this is my favorite mosaic in Jordan.
This mosaic (called the Hippolytus Mosaic since the next row down depicts that Euripides play) was in a sixth century Byzantine villa. Apparently the Byzantines in Madaba, though Christian, frequently depicted Greek gods in their art. As far as I can tell, this mosaic shows Charis (in some sources one of Aphrodite's attendants) chasing Eros and finally delivering him to Aphrodite, who spanks him with her sandal. (Hitting people with her sandal seems to have been a hobby of Aphrodite's.) I'm not sure of the role of the peasant looking on from the left.
It's the character on the right that makes this my favorite mosaic, though: Aphrodite's young lover, Adonis. In Greek mythology, he was a beautiful young man with whom both Aphrodite and Persephone fell in love, so they timeshared him until his tragic death in a hunting accident. The mystery religion surrounding his story involved women annually mourning his death. ("Gentle Adonis is dying, O Cythera, what shall we do? / Beat your breasts, O maidens, and rend your garments" said Sappho.)
The interesting part is that Adonis is linked with the Sumerian god Tammuz, consort of Inana. Adonis is obviously from the Semitic adonai, "Lord"; the Greek myths describe him as coming from Asia Minor; and Ezekiel 8 describes women mourning Tammuz just as they mourned Adonis.
So Adonis began life as a Sumerian fertility god, was absorbed into the Greek pantheon, and then was reexported to Jordan where he adorned the floor of a Byzantine Christian.
And that's why this is my favorite mosaic in Jordan.
